Smart Business Magazine, March 2018

6 Smart Business Cleveland March 2018 FRED KOURY President and CEO Smart Business Network Inc is the publisher of Smart Business magazine and operates Convero a customer and employee engagement firm Fred is committed to focusing on relationships not transactions in everything he does 800 988 4726 fkoury@ sbnonline com www sbnonline com www converoinc com FROM THE CEO FRED KOURY Believe the hype Bitcoin could disrupt the financial industry in a way weve never seen MarketWatch reports that in the past month 24 companies have referenced cryptocurrency in their analyst day conference calls While that list is dominated by financial companies it also includes Dunkin Brands Group Inc and Starbucks Corp Bitcoin was hardly the focus of either companys commentary but the fact that it was discussed at all highlights the degree to which cryptocurrency which started 2017 below 1000 and subsequently soared near 20000 before sharply pulling back has become a major point of interest across the economy writes MarketWatchs Ryan Vlastelica While some executives and high profile investors have dismissed it as a fraud or bubble others have announced initiatives into blockchain the decentralized ledger technology that is the basis for bitcoin and other cryptos Starbucks Executive Chairman Howard Schultz says it would be a mistake for business owners to blindly dismiss the potential for digital currency to transform the global economy We are heading into a new age in which blockchain technology is going to provide a significant level of digital currency that is going to have a consumer application Schultz explains in the article I believe that Starbucks is in a unique position to take advantage of that One of the most intriguing aspects of bitcoin is that it is fully open source and decentralized Anyone has access to the entire source code at any time All bitcoin transactions are recorded permanently on a distributed ledger called a blockchain which is publicly viewable According to statistics compiled by bitcoin com 2017 saw an average of 12000 bitcoin transactions per hour and 80000 bitcoin tweets sent per day The average 24 hour trade volume was 49 billion While bitcoins market value has been quite volatile in recent months it has also proven to be very resilient and was back up over 11000 in mid February As a business leader you owe it to yourself to learn more about cryptocurrency and understand how it works As more people invest new tools will be developed and its influence will grow Companies that have done their homework and developed strategies for customers to use digital currency will have a big advantage over competitors who chose to wait On March 22 Smart Business will host the Cleveland Technology Awards Luncheon at The Ritz Carlton Cleveland This event will feature a lively panel discussion on the growth of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology Participants include Sean Peppard a partner at Benesch Sagar Rambhia co founder and general partner at Grasshopper Capital Larry Harmon founder of Coin Ninja and Clark Khayat executive vice president and chief strategy officer for KeyCorp Take advantage of this opportunity to learn about cryptocurrency It could disrupt the financial industry in a way that weve never seen before Register today for the Cleveland Technology Awards Luncheon visit http bit ly CLETech Bitcoin could be a revolutionary disruption of the global financial industry Or it could be a fad that spawns great curiosity before fading into the ether of history Right now its a hot topic that is very much on the minds of American business owners Fred Koury is the chairman of ASPIRE 2018 which will take place on May 3 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel Register for the conference at www regonline com aspirecle2018

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